


Everything and More: Finding Forever

by stickyrice



Series: Everything and More [1]
Category: Blake Shelton (Musician), The Voice (US) RPF
Genre: F/M, Shefani - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:33:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24658411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stickyrice/pseuds/stickyrice
Summary: Sometimes it take a bit of heartache and pain to find your everything and more; to find your forever. However is that pain and heartache worth it?
Relationships: Blake Shelton/Gwen Stefani
Series: Everything and More [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782835
Comments: 11
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> New to the fandom, but better late than never.
> 
> Just some things that I have been noodling with that I really wanted to get down.

Some would say that he was corny, but he liked to think of it as being an old fashioned gentleman then being corny, he thought as he strode down the almost deserted hallway of the the NBC studio set of The Voice, taking a last look at the bouquet of bright, sunny sunflowers that he had clutched in his hand. 

Thinking back on the day they just had, a wide smile stretched across his face. Gwen had brought the boys to the set that day because Gavin had cancelled on her last minute, not being able to pick the boys up that morning with some excuse or the other, but that didn’t really matter to him, he loved those boys.

He had gotten to know Gwen’s 3 boys quite a bit over this season of The Voice; she was bringing them more and more frequently to the set as her marriage to Gavin was coming to a close, and he was dropping the ball on being a present parental figure in their lives. Although that made him sad at the thought that those sweet boys would and are feeling rejected by their own father, that only strengthened his resolve to step in, in any way that she and they needed him to, to be able to fill that gap, and he did it with pride and honour. 

Things were finally starting to look up for him at last. He was slowly healing from the shattered pieces that Miranda had left behind without a care or a second glance, as she flaunted and exploited their failed marriage. The way she profited off his heartbreak and shattered dreams; the way she paraded a new beau across the tabloids, it seemed weekly; and the way she tried to play the part of the neglected and sad wife, even though he had given her everything he had and then some, at times had made him feel like he was drowning and couldn’t breath. It made him feel like he would never smile again; would never feel that weight lifted from his chest where she had ripped his heart out; would never fill that missing piece of his soul ever again.

That is, until he met her, Gwen. 

He thought back to the end of last season, his marriage was falling apart right in front of him and he was helpless to stop that train as it slammed into him. 

He loved The Voice, I mean really, c’mon, he was the only one to have been part of the judging panel since the inception of the show. But the wreck of his personal life had really brought him to the lowest point in his life that he could ever remember, as as the season was coming to a close, he was really contemplating taking a break and or leaving. The many nights that he had spent drunk, angry and in tears on Adam’s couch, too fresh in his memory. But his (best) friend had somehow convinced him that working and being busy was better than wallowing in his pain and despair, and so he had somehow picked himself up and out of his drunken stupor enough to brush his teeth and haul his ass down to the studio for the first meeting of the upcoming season. 

To say that he felt an almost physical jolt to his cold, dead (he thought) heart as if it was being kickstarted back to life as their eyes tentatively first met while she shyly looked up at him with a small smile playing on her lips as she ducked under his arm as he was holding the door open for her, because no matter how much of a wreck he was, he would never forget the manners that his mama had instill in him, was an understatement. 

And the rest, as they say, was history as he slowly got to know a strong and vibrant woman who was just as lost and hurt as he was, and maybe he was also finding himself again as well along the way. 

Shaking his head, he brought himself back to the present. He was going to do it today, he was finally going to officially ask Gwen to be his girlfriend. Not that they weren’t anything; no, they had shared meals, hugs, weekends with the kids, kisses, but in the eyes of the world they were just close friends. That wasn’t enough for him anymore, and he believed that she felt the same. 

Blake figured that with the upcoming break between the blinds and the live shows, he would take her to Tish where they could spend some times getting to know each other without the shackles of uncertainty.

He wanted to be able to proudly show her off on his arm; kiss her even if people were watching; he wanted to shout from the rooftops that THE Gwen Stefani had chosen him. He wanted everyone to know that she had helped him to pick up the broken pieces of his heart and soul and had made him whole again, and he wanted to show the world how much he loved her. 

Running a hand through his unruly curls and taking a deep breath, Blake is just about to round the corner that would take him to her trailer, when he hears voices that make him stop dead in his tracks. It was Gwen and Gavin. 

He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he wanted to stay close just in case she needed him to step in.

“I miss you,” he heard Gavin say, remorse and passion filling each of those three little words. 

“Me too,” he heard her reply softly. 

At those words he felt his hands go cold and numb, the flowers falling from his slack grip to limply lay on the floor. His heart beating so fast, and loud that it was the only thing that he could hear. 

He always imagined that when things like this happened, that he’d be frozen to the sport or charge into the situation demanding answers, like he had seen on tv and in the movies. But his heart and feet had other plans for him. Before he could hear anymore, his feet had him running down the hall the way he had come, the burst of hot sticky LA air hitting him as the heavy door crashed behind him. 

Not again. He couldn’t, wouldn’t survive his heart being shattered to pieces again. He looked left and right frantically, feeling his pockets for his keys to his truck without success. He needed to get out here now. Run was all that his brain was screaming at him to do, and so he ran. He ran without direction; without thought; without looking back because if he looked back his treacherous soul might take him back to her just so that he could shatter the rest of him. 

However, if he had stayed those few moments more, he wouldn’t have missed the rest of her impassioned speech to her good for nothing ex-husband. 

“You miss me?” Gavin asked her with hope shining in his eyes that she might take him back.

“No. I miss the me that came before you. The me that wasn’t so broken. The me that cried less and laughed more. The me you didn’t destroy. The me that Blake has brought back,” she told him with a fierceness and passiona that she had never felt before. 

With that she turned on her heel, leaving a speechless Gavin in her wake, in search of Blake so that together they could get the hell out of there.

As she rounded the corner her delicate stiletto heel made a crunching sound. Looking down, she noticed a bouquet of sunflowers, the cellophane crunching under her heel. Looking left and right she searched for him; she knew those flowers were from him, only he knew how much sunflowers meant to her, but all she saw was empty hallway and the back door swung wide open. 

  
  



	2. Getting Caught in the Rain

Gwen stooped down and picked up the fallen flowers. She inhaled their sweet scent and fingers the silky soft petals, her mind drifting back to the day that made these flowers her absolute favourite. 

Thick, dark, ominous clouds hung in the sky. The threat of a storm looming overhead. 

Her and Blake had developed this sort of friendship; this sort of I'm not exactly sure what. In such a short time, they had gone from strangers to a reliable, solid presence in each other's lives. It felt as if they had known each other a lifetime, and yet a lifetime didn't feel like enough. 

They had been driving out of the city, Blake had wanted to take her to see some place or the other that was out in the country; a little piece of Oklahoma that had reminded him of home while he was here in California, when of course, like all sappy romance stories, their car had broken down, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by nothing but fields as far as the eye could see.

They had broken down right in the middle of the road. Her, being the city, OC girl, would have just put her hazards on and called for help. However, that was definitely not the case for her working man, country cowboy. He insisted on hopping out and pushing the car to the side of the road. Of course she offered to help but he said that someone needed to steer the car. So that was how she ended up sitting in the drivers seats, watching him through the rearview mirror. His red plaid shirt clinging to his body partly because of the hot, humid air, and partly through exertion; his sleeves rolled up to his elbows showing off his toned, muscular forearms (and let’s face it, rolled up shirt sleeves makes a man 10x hotter than not); and his cheeks slightly flushed. 

All in all, it wasn’t just the car engine that needed some cooling off. So she might have veered off a bit because her attention wasn’t fully on the road, she just hoped that he didn’t notice too much or the frequency. 

Just as they got to the side of the road and she had hopped out of the car to make sure that he was ok, the skies opened up with an almighty crash of thunder and lightning. At the sound, she startled so badly she would have jumped a mile out of her skin, but was stopped by his arms coming around her tightly, steady and reassuring. 

“We should get out of this storm,” he shouted over the roaring sound of the downpour of rain, tugging her by the hand into the direction of an old broken down barn that wasn’t too far from the road. 

“What about the car?” she asked, tilting her head towards the car.

Shaking his head, he replied “It’s not safe. With all this rain, other cars might not be able to see us and they might crash into the car. It is safer in that barn over there, besides it doesn’t look like anyone or anything has used it in ages.”

The rain was coming down in sheets, you could barely see a few meters in front of you. 

“Okay, on the count of 3, we run in that direction,” he said pointing towards where he had seen the broken down barn not even 15 minutes ago. 

“1… 2… 3!” 

With a laugh, they took off towards the building. Blake was very conscious not to run too fast, not that he didn’t think that she would be able to outrun him, she was much more in shape than he was, but his strides were longer, he knew the direction they were supposed to head in, and the ground was very uneven. Next thing you know, not only would they have been stranded, but one or both of them would be sporting broken or sprained limbs as well. 

Reaching shelter, Gwen couldn’t help but laugh, she couldn’t remember the last time that she had run through the rain like that. Looking over to Blake, she tried not to, but she just laughed even harder to the point where tears were streaming down her face and her sides were starting to hurt. 

Seeing her so happy and carefree, he couldn’t help but join in her laughter. 

Raising a brow he questioned her, “What?”

Motioning her arm up and down his frame, a stray giggle escaped her, “You look like a drowned rat.” 

Chuckling, he replied, “Well I think you still look beautiful” as he took a few steps closer to her. She sobered up at his close proximity, her heart pounding faster and harder in her chest, and her breathing coming out in short little pants, that if asked she would blame on the short run from the car. Gwen looked up shyly at him, she could feel the heat coming off his body, and her hands just itched to run through his hair and smooth back his curls off his face. 

“Well a very cute, ruggedly handsome rat,” she giggled nervously. 

With a soft smile, he reached up a hand and tucked some of her wet strands of hair that had escaped her bun, behind her ear. 

Gwen was frozen to the spot, not wanting to speak or move, least the moment be broken, because no matter how much she tried to deny it, she loved the feel of his hands on her skin; loved when he was this close and closer to her; loved the way that his every touch, gesture, and look held so much care and consideration for her. 

Rolling one of his sleeves down and pulling on the sleeve a bit to cover his hand, he gently wiped at the droplets of water that were making their way down her face from her soaked through hair. Repeating the motion, he wiped underneath her eyes where his makeup had run. 

“Absolutely beautiful” he said just above a whisper, his eyes intently taking in every inch of her face, his eyes finally landing on her slightly parted lips. His hand that was originally just supposed to be wiping away the water coursing down her face, palmed at her cheek, caressing her jaw and then gently running the pad of his thumb across her pouted bottom lip. 

Blake’s breathing was suddenly becoming more shallow; his loud heartbeat blocking out the sound of the torrential rain outside. 

As if drawn together like magnets, their faces inched in closer and closer, closing the already hairbreath space between them. 


	3. Sunflowers

A loud crash of thunder had them suddenly springing a part before their lips were able to touch. 

Taking a deep breath, Blake’s hand went to rub the back of his neck, while the other was hastily shoved into his pocket.

_Holy shit! I almost most kissed THE Gwen Stefani,_ he thought as he paced a few steps in either direction, trying to calm his racing heart. _Holy shit! Gwen almost kissed ME!_ He thought in disbelief as he snuck a glance at her, only to see her doing the same as him. 

_OMG OMG OMG! His eyes are so blue and intense and alluring and my god is my stomach supposed to feel like this all butterfly-ie, and my heart feel likes it's going to burst and lodge itself in my throat at the same time_ , her inner musings and pacing was suddenly stopped by the sound of his warm laughter. 

Pausing to look over at him, she scrutinized him with narrowed eyes, but couldn’t help but join him in his laughter, and the next thing they know, they are sagging against each other, tears in their eyes, sides hurting, and barely able to breathe. 

Taking a deep breath, a last giggle escaping from her lips, she looked up at him with a soft smile playing on her lips, “Hi,” she said softly, a soft sparkle in her eyes.

“Hi,” he replied, his dimples coming out in full force. 

He was just about to say more, when he noticed that she was shivering, breaking the moment.

“Aw geeze Gwen, I’m so sorry, you must be freezing. C’mere,” he said, pulling her deeper into the barn where there were some dray hay bales. Taking a seat and leaning back on the hay, he tugged her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, running his hands up and down her bare arms, feeling the goosebumps on her arms smoothen out again to her natural soft, porcelain skin. The sounds of falling rain and occasional crash of thunder and flash of lightning the symphony playing in the background. 

Outwardly they exuded a sense of calm but inside both were equally freaking out. 

_Her skin is so soft and so smooth and she smells like sunshine and rain and cinnamon… does she like like me because I like like her and I don’t know if I couldn’t bear it if she didn’t like like me… aw hell, I sound like a freaking teenager again! Get it together Shelton!_ He mentally berated himself. 

_Eeeeeeep! His arms are around me and they feel so strong and he’s so tan and look how cute the hair on his arms looks and he’s so warm, a girl could get used to this. I’ve never felt like this before, so safe and secure and cherished, not with anyone, not with Tony and especially not with Gavin. But who am I kidding, why would someone like him, who could probably get any girl he wants, especially with those dimples, want some washed out, single mom of three like me,_ she thought with a frown. 

“Hey, penny for your thoughts,” he asked her with a nudge as he noticed the frown maring her features. 

“Oh nothing,” she said, a little surprised to be interrupted from her inner musings. 

“It’s just… I don’t know… I mean… well… I like you Blake” she blurted out suddenly, hands quickly raising up to her mouth, as if she was physically trying not to let any other secrets out, seemingly not able to control what was coming out of her mouth.

His mouth fell open not believing his ears, while the little Blake in his head was doing a happy jig. But before he could complete his happy dance and tell her that he felt the same, she interrupted his little jig.  
  


“But it’s okay, don’t worry about it, I get it. I mean c’mon, you are you, with your alluring blue eyes, a smile with those hella sexy dimples that would make any woman weak in the knees, and wow that voice, like liquid honey. I mean what woman wouldn’t want you. And I’m just Gwen; washed out has been, single mom of three rambunctious boys, my personal life is a disaster of soccer practice, school pick ups and pre school. I’m not pretty anymore and I'm not as young as I used to be. I have nothing to offer you but ….” her babbling was suddenly stopped by him turning her around in his arms and gently placing a finger over her lips. 

“Woah woah woah darlin’, wait just a minute there. I won’t have you talking about yourself like that,” he told her seriously, tilting her chin up so that her downcast eyes could meet his, so that she could see the truth in his words. 

“But Blake…” she tried to interject” 

“Nope, still my turn darlin,” he said with a small shake of his head, a soft smile playing on his lips, as if to tell her not to worry.

“I wish you could see yourself the way I see you,” he said brushing out the hair that had fallen into her face and tucking it behind her ear. 

“You are the most kind, caring, amazing woman that I have ever met. You take the time to really see a person; you saw the real me, when all I wanted to do was hide away from the world. You took the time even though you were hurting too, to help me pick up the pieces of my broken heart,” he told her as he wiped away the stray tears that were silently running down her cheeks, a watery but awed smile on her lips. 

He continued, picking up more confidence in his words as every little and big moment of them together played in his minds eyes, “You’re like… like… like a sunflower.”

“What???” she said with a chuckle and a puzzled look on her face. “Are you saying that I am too skinny and I have a big head?”

“No! I’m trying to be romantic here, give a minute,” he said with a good natured scoff. 

“I just meant… well… you know!” he scrubbed a hand down his face,”This was going so much better in my head!” 

Taking a deep breath, he tried to articulate his thoughts so that he wouldn’t sound like some ol hillbilly idiot, “Gratitude. When I look at you, when I think of you, just like what a sunflower represents, I think gratitude; gratitude that you have included me in your life, in your family’s life. There isn’t a day that goes by where I just want to punch that ex of yours in the mouth for hiding you away from the sun and not letting you grow, but rather had you shrinking away.”

“But the you that I see, I’m in awe. The Gwen I see stands twelve feet tall; growing above men, bright and blooming. She is capable. Able. Powerful. She is someone that we all aspire to be; someone that us mere mortals would take a lifetime to try and emulate, and even then, most would never make it. You are my sunflower; my beautiful and tall and inspiring and brilliant and capable and bright woman,” he finished, his eyes turned downcast, embarrassed that he was being so mushy, but she brought that out of him, but not only that with her, he actually wanted me to be that man. 

The silence stretched on between them making him worry that he had over stepped and said too much. He was just about to take it all back and ask her if she could just forget what he said, and ask her if they could just go back to how they were before he had said anything, when the next thing he knows he was being bowled over and ended up flat on his back with an arm full of Gwen.

“Oh you!” she exclaimed as she hugged him with all her might, tucking her head under his chin against her neck, and inhaling his scent that was unmistakably Blake. 

They stayed that way, comfortably resting in each other's arms, their hearts full, eventually drifting off to the patter of rain hitting the roof. 

Some time later, a ray of bright sunlight flit through a broken slat in the wall, making him stir awake. He took a moment to admire her while she was still asleep, and couldn’t help but smile at the way her nose twitched and scrunched up in her sleep. 

Brushing the back of his hand against her cheek, he called her name softly. Blinking up at him, warm browns met vibrant blues. 

“Hi” she said smiling shyly up at him.

“Hi” he replied with a dopey smile on his face. 

The buzzing of his phone interrupted them. Giving her one last look, he untangled himself from and and fished his phone out from his pocket. 

“A car and a tow should be here any minute,” he said reluctantly, not wanting to let go of this moment with the woman of his dreams. 

With a nod, she gets up and brushes the stray bits of hay from her clothes and hair. Holding out her hand for him with a bright smile on her face she says, “C’mon cowboy”

Taking her smaller hand in his, and returning her smile, they walk hand in hand out into the sunshine, only to be greeted by fields of sunflowers for as far as the eye could see. 

In the not so far distance, they could see the approaching car and tow truck pulling up behind their car. With some quick thinking and guilt ( _I’ll find out whose farm this is and I will e-transfer them a 20_ he thought), he broke the stem off one of the tall beautiful flowers and handed it to her. 

“Beautiful, but pales in comparison to you, my sunflower,” he said with a wink just before his cowboy persona came out and he was talking engines and horsepower and coolant with the tow truck driver. 


End file.
